CLIENTS ARE HARD TO WIN
AND EASY TO LOSE
Strong client relationships are the foundation of successful agencies – but they don’t build themselves.
As agencies scale up, client service often becomes rate-limiting. Teams default to delivery, growth becomes reactive and leaders are left firefighting.
In a market where AI is levelling the playing field, the ability to identify, create and communicate value is what sets agencies apart. That means going beyond delivery to build strategic partnerships that drive client retention, growth and long-term success.
Creating valuable business relationships starts with truly understanding your clients and the difference between:
What they
want
Why they
want it
What they
value
What they need
When your team defaults to managing your clients like a project, it can be hard for the relationship or the business to flourish The first thing every client will notice going wrong is Client Service. Your clients may not be experts in judging the quality of what you do, but every client is an expert in judging whether their experience meets (or exceeds) their expectations, adds real value, and how it compares to others. And value is always defined by the client, not the agency. How does this show up? - When you’re spending more time fighting fires with unhappy clients than building relationships - When winning new business means running to stand still - When you’re the only one able to spot organic growth opportunities and feel the business potential of existing clients is never realized. - When your team relies on your instincts rather than their own.
Three pathways to stronger relationships and scalable growth
The Rethink Client Service Programme enables B2B agencies working in specialised sectors like health and tech – where teams must be experts in their field – to go beyond skilled delivery by building the mindset, systems and capabilities needed to retain clients, unlock growth and scale strategically, and stop relying on just a few star performers.
Whether you need to stop churn, increase short-term revenue or scale up systematically, our three-module programme can address your immediate challenges and develop with you and your team.
Learn where, why, and how AI can enhance client relationships and grow business
Individual and group learning through theory, practice and real-world examples
Practical application to your challenges using repeatable frameworks
Net Prompter Score > 90
Best for:
New or at-risk accounts
Early-stage and growing teams
Leaders firefighting issues
Module 1
SECURE
Keep Clients
Secure the work. Strengthen the relationship. Stop business walking out the door.
Outcomes:
🎯 Immediate impact on client retention and relationship quality.
🎯 Shared understanding of what “good” looks like and how to overcome challenges in client working.
🎯 Clients become advocates, not just accounts.
🎯 Reduced founder dependency and firefighting.
🎯 Equivalent of 5+ years of on-the-job learning in weeks.
🎯 Teambuilding and tangible investment in professional capabilities.
Outputs:
☑ Client preference and relationship diagnostics.
☑ Team self-awareness and professional values review.
☑ Interactive workshop and action plan.
☑ Templates and checklists for essential performance standards.
☑ AI-supported client service behaviours.
☑ Expert input on real-time client challenges.
Content:
💡 Psychographic understanding of clients and their expectations.
💡 Psychological insight into team values and behaviours.
💡Trusted advisor mindset and approach.
💡Building vs breaking profitable relationships.
💡AI integration for personalisation and risk reduction.
💡Pre-work and case studies.
💡Frameworks and templates.
💡Live problem-solving.
Example ROI:
🔐 Saving a £100k account pays for training a 10-person team 12x over.
🔐 Avoiding a repitch for a £250k account covers the cost 30x over.
Format (either online or F2F):
» Online - 3 x 90-min workshops.
» In person - 2 x 120-min workshop sessions or 1 x half-day.
» Maximum 10 participants.
» Flexible scheduling for single-agency teams.
Best for:
Quick revenue wins
Rising stars
Developing teams beyond delivery
Module 2
GROW
Grow Revenue
Grow revenue by creating real client value. Spot and act on opportunities others miss.
Outcomes:
🎯 Short-term growth opportunities from existing clients identified and acted on.
🎯 Improved commercial awareness and strategic thinking.
🎯 Team-wide capability uplift – everyone becomes a growth driver, able to think strategically about account management.
🎯 Reduced reliance on senior leaders to spot and convert opportunities.
🎯 Equivalent of 10+ years of on-the-job learning in weeks.
🎯 Teams feel they are developing and invested in.
Outputs:
☑ Client insight personas and unmet needs analysis.
☑ Interactive workshop including short-term growth opportunity mapping.
☑ Frameworks for identifying and communicating client value using behavioural economics.
☑ AI-assisted value identification and proposal generation.
☑ Expert input on real-time growth opportunities.
Content:
💡 Client insight personas.
💡 Behavioural economics of identifying, selling and delivering value.
💡 Strategic conversations and value-based selling.
💡 Psychology of pricing and presentation.
💡 Mental models for turning challenges into opportunities.
💡 The power of curiosity.
💡 Using AI to generate strategic questions, spot and convert opportunities to create value.
💡 Frameworks and templates.
💡 Pre-work and case studies.
💡 Live problem-solving.
Example ROI:
📈 A single £30k upsell pays for one participant’s training 25x over.
📈 Growing an extra £200k of business pays for the team’s training 16x over.
Format (either online or F2F):
» Online - 3 x 90-min workshops.
» In person - 2 x 120-min workshop sessions or 1 x half-day.
» Maximum 10 participants.
» Flexible scheduling for single-agency teams.
Best for:
Planned long-term growth
Account leads
Agencies scaling strategically
Module 3
MULTIPLY
Scale Systematically
Multiply client lifetime value with a planned, scalable account development strategy.
Outcomes:
🎯 12-month insight-driven account plans.
🎯 Defined ownership and accountability for growth KPIs.
🎯 Team alignment with KAM principles.
🎯 Scalable, self-sustaining client development process.
🎯 Shared team understanding and account lead capabilities.
🎯 Strategic clarity for agency leaders.
🎯 Modules 1 & 2 tailored to agency specifics.
Outputs:
☑ All of Modules 1 & 2.
☑ Planning meeting to tailor all three modules.
☑ Client feedback survey design, implementation and analysis.
☑ Account planning framework and workshop.
☑ AI-assisted account reviews and action plans for top 4 clients (including situation analysis, identifying growth opportunities, assigning value, follow-up roles and responsibilities).
☑ Hands-on consultant input, 1:1 team insight and implementation sessions and multiple management checkpoints.
Content:
💡 All of Modules 1 & 2.
💡 Client feedback survey.
💡 Strategic account reviews and growth mapping.
💡 Templates, frameworks, and expert input.
💡 Pre-work and case studies.
💡 Personalized team support.
Example ROI:
🔁 Extending the lifecycle of a £500k account by one year pays for itself 25x over.
🔁 Developing an extra £750k of business across teams pays for itself 37x over.
Format (either online or F2F):
» Multi-session over 5 months.
» Includes immersion, account planning workshop and team 1:1s (up to 4 accounts/ team leads), & client development lifecycle.
» For single-agency teams who have completed Modules 1 & 2.
A partner as well as a trainer
Over 20 years as an agency leader growing multi-million-pound accounts, I developed and supported hundreds of team members on the skills, systems and behaviours that create long-term value in agency-client relationships.
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Existing clients became the #1 driver of agency revenue growth
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One-off projects turned into multi-million pound agency of record accounts
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Account longevity greatly extended with near zero ‘regrettable’ client losses
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Critical client relationships turned around when they seemed destined to fail
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Record client satisfaction
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Accelerated team career progression
As well as group training, I provide 1-2-1 coaching and bespoke consultancy that turns your client service team into your biggest competitive advantage.
I work with B2B agency leads and teams working across creative, advertising, comms and education, including those focused on highly specialsed sectors like healthcare, tech and insight.
Coaching and mentoring
1-2-1 guidance or group support for account handlers with high potential but who lack development time with experienced leaders. Tailored to unique career, professional and client development challenges. Effectively apply and embed the knowledge gained from structured training and transform good into great.
Consultancy
Fractional Chief Client Officer support, help for newly-appointed Heads of Client Service and bespoke consultancy for specific client growth or team development challenges. Minimize demands on internal resources and leverage external expertise where a full-time hire can't be justified.
Who can benefit?
Rising star Account Managers and Account Directors who deliver great work but lack client and commercial confidence.
Technically strong teams, including Project Managers, Strategists, Planners, Writers and Freelancers who have mastered delivery and know that mastering client relationships is key to taking their career further.
Client Service Directors and Account Leads with responsibility for growing and retaining business who need to be more entrepreneurial to drive future success for their agency and themselves.
Team and Agency Leaders who want to turn good performers into great client partners, scale without burning out and move towards a Key Account Management approach to growth.
The gains from investing are a fraction of the cost
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Retain high-value clients and reduce churn
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Unlock short-term revenue from existing accounts
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Build scalable systems for long-term growth
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Reduce founder dependency and firefighting
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Equip teams with 10+ years of learning in weeks
A skilled client handler can create a strategic client-agency relationship worth millions in revenue without pitching, not to mention the cost saving of problems solved or avoided. Even more if the cost of losing an account is also factored in.
It takes years to learn on the job | Hybrid working is a barrier to passive learning | Even the best team members have blind spots
Realize the Potential of Your Client Relationships
A skilled client handler can create a strategic client-agency relationship worth millions in revenue without pitching, not to mention the cost saving of problems solved or avoided. Even more if the cost of losing an account is also factored in.